Designer Christophe de Menil was born in France, and raised in Houston amidst the legendary collection of her parents, John and Dominique de Menil. At a young age Miss de Menil became well known for wearing the work of renowned designers, including fashion icon Madame Gres. Since her teens, Miss de Menil has also been a steady friend and patron of contemporary artists, architects and designers, including Matisse, Le Corbusier, Barnett Newman, de Kooning, Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Mark di Suvero, Philip Johnson, Louis Kahn, Luis Barragán, Tadao Ando, among many, many others. Inspired by these outstanding people, Miss de Menil established herself as a notable costume designer, producing work for Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, and Robert Wilson. While collaborating with Wilson she also created jewelry with the extraordinary Claude Lalanne.

Miss de Menil’s designs are a distillation of these remarkable collaborations and friendships, and her jewelry and clothing design hold the echoes of an immersion in the great theater costume departments of Europe: Munich’s Kammerspiele, Rotterdam’s National Theater, the Chatelet in Paris, Amsterdam’s Opera House, Rome’s Teatro dell’ Opera, Sicily’s Summer Festival in Gibellina. Contact

As also announced by Wallpaper* magazine: “Today, Van Cleef & Arpels’ school of jewellery – L’École Van Cleef & Arpels – opens its gilded doors for the very first time. Aimed at makers, connoisseurs and those just simply keen to get an ‘intellectual and emotional grasp of the soul of jewellery through personal experience’, the school will uncover the notoriously secretive world of fine-jewellery via a non-technical curriculum of classes, which will be taught in English as well as French.” Chouette !! AsCaragh McKay explains: “Marie Vallanet-Delhom, the first President of the new École Van Cleef & Arpels, is one of the most prominent figures in the French watch and jewellery industry, and will share her 25-year knowledge of the great French jewellery maisons at the school. Here she talks as through the concept and curriculum.” To view, kindly click HERE.

Lessons in Excellency at Van Clef & Arpels: The gemsetter constantly refers to the gouaché so that he or she can select the right stones for a piece. The combination of different shaped and sized gems adds a sense of movement. Image via Wallpaper*.